Winter is coming? Are You Prepared?

We are writing to all tenants/landlords to remind you that winter is coming! Extra precautions need to be taken to protect your home. We want to avoid any costly damage for instance, in a recent case where adequate precautions were not taken; there was a resultant damage in excess of £20,000 in a property where pipes had frozen and then burst causing extensive flooding.

Over winter and especially Christmas, tenants will wish to go away and visit friends and family, we ask that you take the following precautions if you’re away for more than 24 hours: 1) Keep the central heating on a low or normal setting to maintain a temperature of between 12 to 15 degrees Celsius. 2) Turn off the water supply, and shut down and drain any central heating boiler and associated pipe work. To do this, you will need to turn off the water supply at the main stopcock and open all taps, hot and cold, to drain water from roof storage tank and pipes. Circulating water central heating systems will also need to be drained (and refilled on return before re-starting). 3) Ventilate the property to ensure that moisture does not build up inside the home Whilst this is general advice, the characteristics of each individual property may be slightly different. If you are unsure how to take appropriate measures to protect the property whilst you are away please do not hesitate to contact us. Landlords, if you are not at present on a Fully Managed Service it maybe a time to consider upgrading to this contract. Call 0121 321 6090 to discuss.

We also recommend you review your insurance suppliers to make sure that you are covered for your Landlord and Tenant Liability. We need tenants insurance on file, please email a copy to suttoncoldfield@martinco.com

Great investment property in Dunslade Road which could yield close to 7%

Here's an interesting property that's on the market in Dunslade Road in Erdington. It's on the market at £95K (offers in excess of) with Bairstow Eves. At this sort of price, this looks a good investment property. From experience of letting out property of this type and condition it could easily obtain £550pcm. Now based upon these figures, this will yield circa 6.9%, which is not too bad. Delve a bit deeper and let's say that the property was given a 'lick of paint', I would reckon that the rental figure would be closer to the market rate of £575pcm, which in turn makes it now closer to 7.2% yield, which is getting even better! In addition, the agent has disclosed that it's Chain Free! It just gets better! Give them a call and check it out further. Further details at http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-43663237.html

Should you wish to discuss any other specific properties or just a general chat regarding the current market, please feel free to contact me on 0121 321 6090 or call in and see me at 24 Birmingham Road, Sutton Coldfield.

Tudor Hill in Sutton Coldfield, ideal for family homes, is it time to sell?

A couple asked me to value their home on Tudor Hill in Sutton Coldfield. An excellent location, ideal for the park and yet a quiet street with some magnificent properties. This got me thinking, how much have house prices increased on roads like this over the last year? Interestingly since the outbreak of the global financial crisis and the property crash circa 2008 little can be reported for streets like this in Sutton Coldfield as there was lack of movement in the market. Therefore the local downturn in houses prices could be considered as unquantifiable. Certain you might think that we could consider it against the UK housing market as a whole, but this exercise now is irrelevant.

Focusing on the street and averages, from 1 year ago a value change of around 8% can be found from data on major property web portals. More interestingly that over 5% of that change has been in the last 6 months with nearly 2% of that increase being in the last 3 months! Interesting indeed. The number of Sales on the street in the last 5 years is 18, with an average house price of £533,497. My clients with their home on Tudor Hill found it interesting that in the last year most sales have been around £395,000 average, with only reportedly 4 completed at this time. Tudor Hill, as mentioned earlier has some quite large and expensive property, with unreported sales (on land registry) yet to be update over £700,000 mark. This pans out well for my clients who wish to sell their home in the near future and they should achieve a comfortable price for the family property. It has been an excellent period for house selling and home owners such as those on Tudor Hill have been able to achieve sales respectable of the true value of their homes. If you are interested in a free market appraisal let me know by contacting me on 0121 321 6090 or emailing Suttoncoldfield@martinco.com SELL YOUR HOME 0.5% +VAT (For new client instructions only between July and December 2014) Terms and conditions apply

Where to buy in Walsall, Street Research

Having let out a few properties in the Walsall Area recently I was intrigued to see the range of value of properties in the Area. I looked at the WS5 postcode for comparisons. Certainly I was surprised to see that the most expensive street in WS5 was Woodlands Avenue with average house price (since 1995) being £705,148. Not cheap you will agree but certainly not the most expensive within the larger Birmingham Area. What about the bottom end of the property spectrum, where are the cheaper houses? The answer Acacia Avenue with an average value of £72,309. Well priced and competitive with other areas in the wider Birmingham Area. Most interesting from the data I discovered was that since 1995 Woodlands avenue has had 34 property transactions out of 35 Residences. Meaning on average each house has had a new owner in the last 20 years. Acacia Avenue however has had only 4 transactions in the last 20 years out of 68 residences. Amazing, people in Acacia Avenue just seem to stay put. We cannot determine why this is, educated guesses can be made, but certainly this will be down to affluence in some form. With the list of least expensive streets in WS5 I am contacting investors who I know to be operating in that area to see what yields they can achieve. Where would you invest if you were looking at becoming a Landlord? Let me know by contacting me on 0121 321 6090. TO CELEBRATE 5 YEARS IN SUTTON COLDFIELD WE HAVE A SPECIAL OFFER SELL YOUR HOME 0.5%, PROPERTY MANAGEMENT FOR 5%. (For new client instructions only between July and December 2014) Terms and conditions apply

Where is Hot to buy in Sutton Coldfield?

A young couple were asking me where the best places in Sutton Coldfield were to buy a home a few weeks ago. They had a budget between £150,000 and £180,000. Of course the answer I gave them was primarily subjective, due to their requirements for commuting and schools. Locations and price can easily be compared by using area heat maps, it narrows your targeting area for your price bracket. With prices over £250,000 clustering around Sutton Coldfield town centre and surrounding the park. The couple could see that they were better to concentrate their search in the lower parts of Wylde Green and Boldmere areas, with prices ranging from the £150,000 to £200,000. Trends like this can easily be seen in other locations, with central areas being more desirable or particular sites drawing in greater affluence a tendency for higher prices can be found. Take for example, Four Oaks Private Estate, the surrounding area maintains a high level of value even outside the Estate with average prices well over the £450,000 to £500,000 bracket. Certainly for this young couple we ruled out looking in this area, but we discussed their future plans to move to the area. The interesting thing here is the “gentrification” process can easily be related to the movement of people from Urban Birmingham locations through to places like Four Oaks. The couple since found the right property at the right price and we look forward to proceeding there offer through to completion on their new home! Information such as the above can be found on Mousprice.com

Around Sutton Coldfield, Good place to invest?

A new client asked me whether the property market in the towns around Sutton Coldfield is a good place to invest in so we did a little research with a focus on the villages of Water Orton, Curdworth, Wishaw and Middleton… There are some great properties available to rent for a tenant, from lovely three bedroomed detached houses at over £700 per month, to beautiful barn conversations at over £2,000 per month. Quite interestingly, nearly 4 out of 5 people own their home in these villages whilst the national average is just over 3 out of 5 people. This suggests there are not many properties that are in the privately rented market in these villages. In fact, according to the recent census figures, there is only around 10% of rented stock in the surrounding area. Certainly this would create demand for property for people looking a moving to the area.

Some people have the perception that village properties are difficult to let, however, as the tenants have to own a car and can afford the fuel and maintenance that goes with it many people look at commuting whilst enjoying the more rural lifestyle. Also, the issue of car ownership we can assume would not be a problem with average earnings being higher than the Birmingham area. Putting aside the large stone country properties with land and stables, which usually let well, as long as you have a property that is not above the £1500 per calendar month mark, and is within reasonable driving distance of transport links; there should be a strong demand for it. If you would like to talk to us about your potential investment, please come into our office on the Birmingham Road or call 0121 321 6090. For more articles visit our blog suttoncoldfieldproperty.blogspot.co.uk

Are flats in Erdington good to invest in?

There are over 4,000 flats in Erdington. This represents around 20% of the housing stock here, with the national average being nearer 17.5%. The average price of flats with one or two bedrooms in Erdington is around £95,380, which is more than 4% high than 12 months ago. One of my buy to let investors asked me to help him hunt down the right flat in Erdington to buy. You can buy a one bedroom flat in the development on Northcroft Way, for a very reasonable £80,000. If a landlord put down a £15,000 deposit and borrowed the rest, they could achieve around £550 per month in rent. Providing service charge is low, yields could reach around 7.0% per year. However, you must remember that every landlord’s tax and interest rates are different, so it is essential to research your investment carefully before committing.

Finally, let’s not forget about the potential increase in capital value of the property. I was looking at the one bedroom flats in the Swan Gardens development and found that they have sold for around £36,000 in 1999. This had almost tripled in value over 15 years, to nearly £85,000 in 2014. The values did dip during the recession but we should see an increase from these values once stability returns to the Birmingham Area. If you would like some advice about what could make a good investment, please visit our office on the Birmingham Road and visit our blog http://suttoncoldfieldproperty.blogspot.co.uk/

Do semi-detached properties on the Pype Hayes Estate make good investments for Buy to Let?

I was talking to someone who lives in a detached house on the Pype Hayes Estate. He wants to purchase his first Buy to Let property and has noticed our rental index and previous articles, so was interested in getting to know the industry a little bit more. As he has lived in the Pype Hayes for over 8 years and he felt comfortable investing in there as he knew it well, we started to discuss the property market in this area. Firstly, we found that 19 semi-detached houses have sold within 0.25 miles of his property since the year 2000. Property values in Erdington (B24) have risen on average by over 140% over the last 19 years, but most semi-detached properties on the Pype Hayes have beaten that rise. For example, a three bedroomed semi-detached property on Tyburn Road rose by 142%, from £66,000 in 1995 to £160,000 in 2014 (current worth).

When we look back to 2003 on the newer section of the Pype Hayes estate, a three bedroomed semi-detached property in the Pype Hayes Road was bought for £175,500 and sold in 2012 for an only £180,000. An interesting contrast, to the older properties. With strong capital growth, such as those seen on the Tyburn Road you would expect yields to be comparatively lower, but most three bedroomed properties on the development can be picked up from £160,000 to £180,000 and could have achievable rents of £700 to £875 per month. This means annual yields can be around an attractive 5.5%! If you would like to talk to us about your potential investment, please come into our office on the Birmingham Road in Sutton Coldfield or call 0121 321 6090. For more articles visit our blog suttoncoldfieldproperty.blogspot.co.uk

Erdington has some of the most affordable properties in the Area

A landlord came in to our office earlier this week to discuss the affordability of property in Erdington, with the current national market property market being in recovery with increasing house prices. The best advice I can give to those looking to invest in property is our secret trick of the trade. You can judge the affordability of a town by simply finding the ratio of the average property price to the average salary. The lower the ratio, the more affordable property is. When we put this to the test, we found that Erdington currently has an average property value of around £126,000 with the average salary being £19,163. This is a respectable ratio of 1 to 6.58. Meanwhile in Sutton Coldfield the ratio of property values to salary is upward of 1 to 7.2, with Four Oaks being 1 to 9.60. This suggests the property in Four Oaks is less affordable for the average inhabitant than in Erdington. We also had a look at Great Barr and found the average salary is £18,864 and the average property value is £125,900. This means that property in Great Barr is more affordable than Sutton Coldfield, with a ratio of 1 to 6.7. This confirms expectations people have when purchasing properties in this areas. Sutton Coldfield with higher average earnings going hand in hand with higher property prices. For the Landlord buying a property in Erdington was the best option. For the average buyer, however, their considerations would be highly focused on amenities, schools, shops and standard of living.

Figures indicate it is a good time to invest in the area, property prices may continue to increase and therefore picking up a good deal now whilst income to value ratios are reasonable. If you would like to talk to us about your potential investment, please come into our office on the Birmingham Road or call 0121 321 6090. For more articles visit our blog suttoncoldfieldproperty.blogspot.co.uk

Are people in Sutton Coldfield more likely to move?

A friend asked me on the weekend, where was good to buy in Sutton Coldfield. Given the price he wanted to spend I suggested Upper Holland Road. He commented that properties on that street are always up for sale. I thought I would investigate further into the average turnover of properties in Sutton Coldfield. A brilliant indicator, which is commonly overlooked, of an area’s property market is the amount of times properties change hands. There are 4,018 properties in Sutton Coldfield (B72) and 1,011 have changed hands in the last 7 years. Four Oaks (B74) a larger area, with 12,647 properties has had 3,160 change hands over the same period. For both that is around 25% of the properties changing hands over that period. It was clear when I looked at B73 , which had a similar quarter of properties changing hands, that this was the common average for Sutton Coldfield as a whole!

Our neighbours in Erdington (B24) may only have 11,562 properties, but of these only 1,940 households moved during the last 7 years. This works out as 16.78% of the town’s property market changing hands, far less than Sutton Coldfield's 25%.Taking this into account many more people buy and sell within the Sutton Coldfield area, people are 50% more likely to relocate in and out of the core Sutton Coldfield postal codes. Interestingly key indications show that there has been a 12.5% growth rate in both Erdington and Sutton Coldfield over the last five years. Erdington also has a far larger rental sector than Sutton Coldfield, making it a good place to invest. This shows you must cover every detail from the property to the area’s market before making a decision to buy, be it for yourself or as a buy to let investment. If you would like to talk to us about Selling or buying, please feel free to visit our office on Birmingham Road, in Sutton Coldfield. For more visit suttoncoldfieldproperty.blogspot.co.uk

Barracks Estate: Sutton Coldfield's Sleeping Giant?

A buyer recently missed his chance to buy a three bed semi-detached property on the Barracks Estate, off Rectory Road, near Falcon Lodge, as it sold in a few weeks. He asked me if there something special about the area, so I did a little research. I have included Blakemore Drive, Sentry Way, Langley Park Way and Barrack Close in my findings for the Barracks Estate area. Blakemore Drive in the first part, near M.O.D. (Ministry of Defence) buildings, which was built in the 1980s by Clarke and Bryant Homes followed by the area closest to the A38, which was bought off the M.O.D.by Bryant homes in the 1990s. The most recent part was bought from the M.O.D. by Morris Homes, in the early 2000, construction finishing around 2004.

A number of 3 bedroom houses have sold in the area for around £200,000 to 215,000 in the last two years. To prepare the properties as a rental investment would take very little and this could achieve rents of around £850 per month, which would provide a reasonable annual yield of around 4.9%. The three bedroom semi-detached properties in the Blakemore Drive area which were selling for a maximum of £203,000 last year, are now estimated to be a little higher than this. The town houses found near Langley Park Way offer the tenant and buyer larger rooms, which can be more appealing and have recently sold in the region of £215,000. As the achievable rents could be between £850 and £900 per month, the possible annual yield is slightly lower on the Town houses at around £795pcm . Don’t be discouraged, however, as the houses have seen great increases in value and are popular with buyers and tenants. With capital growth on average increasing by 23% on Langley Park Way in the last 10 years, whereas Blakemore drive growth has been in the region of 14%. If you would like to talk to us about property in our area please feel free to visit our office on the Birmingham Road, Sutton Coldfield or call 0121 321 6090, email suttoncoldfield@martinco.com

Erdington outperforms Sutton Coldfield by 46%

Erdington outperforms Sutton Coldfield by 46% A landlord with a small property portfolio came into our office on the Birmingham Road, Sutton Coldfield last week. He lives in Streetly, and has properties in both Sutton Coldfield and Erdington. He wanted to ask our opinion on where he should his next Buy to Let property. Looking at Sutton Coldfield, the average property price can be an impressive £268,723 and the average rent is equally high at £781 per month. In Erdington, an average property is £128,234 and the average rent is only £541 per month. The annual yield in Sutton Coldfield could be only 3.5% per year, compared to Erdington where he could achieve an annual yield of nearer 5.1%. It made me consider two other towns close by, Great Barr and Water Orton. In Great Barr, I was surprised to find property values are much higher than in Erdington, with an average property price of £142,207. They have an average rent of £595 per month, which could achieve a yield of 5.0%. The average price of a property in Water Orton is £201,340, with rents of around £464 per month. This could achieve a yield of 2.8% per year. This is odd in terms of averages, because the properties I have let in Water Orton have an average of £625 per month is more to what you would expect at 3.7% annual yield. It goes to show Erdington can be a good area for an investment property, but it is a decision that shouldn't be taken lightly. These are only averages, so the yields for some small to medium sized properties in popular areas of Erdington can achieve yields of 5.5% to 7.5% per year.

Priced right and decorated to a reasonable standard properties in any of the above areas are quick to rent. If you want to know our thoughts on property in Erdington, come into our office on the Birmingham Road, Sutton Coldfield or call 0121 321 6090, email suttoncoldfield@martinco.com

Coles Lane, Sutton Coldfield vs Riland Avenue, Sutton Coldfield

Coles Lane, Sutton Coldfield vs Riland Avenue, Sutton Coldfield I was talking to a couple last week, who are considering becoming landlords for the first time and they were looking for advice as to whether a property on Coles Lane, Sutton Coldfield or Riland Avenue, Sutton Coldfield would make a better Buy to Let investment. They were interested in which would offer a better return/yield, and whilst properties on both streets can let and sell well, I wanted to do a bit more research to help them with their decision.

Over the last three years, the average value of a property on Riland Avenue has been around £140,000; while on Coles Lane it was nearly 17% more, at around £164,000. To better understand the investment opportunities available, we considered the rents over the same three year period. The average rent achieved on Coles Lane was in the region of £636 pcm, giving an average yield/return of approx 4.7%. On Riland Avenue the average rent was slightly lower, at around £540 pcm, with a corresponding yield/return of 4.6%. However, one must also consider capital growth and how the value could change over time. In 2000, a semi detached house on Coles Lane would have cost approximately £83,000 and on Riland Avenue the average terrace value was £64,000. This shows that the average property value on Coleshill has risen by 97.6% since 2000, and on Riland Avenue has risen by 118.75%. Ultimately, we found both streets to be equally good investments, but as you can see Coles Lane has a slightly better yield, but Riland Avenue has higher captial growth, which we would not have identified without that extra investigation. Realistically, however, it depends on the best available property to buy on the day. If you are a landlord, new or old, feel free to visit Andrew Clinton (Branch Manager) in our office on the Birmingham Road to ask his opinion on which property investment is best for you.

Welcome

Welcome to the Sutton Coldfield Property Blog. This is narrative on the property market within Sutton Coldfield and surrounding areas (such as Erdington, Great Barr and Coleshill). Each post will provide you with an insight into the details of the current property market within the local area. I will try and answer your questions on the specifics of the property market locally. The Blog is designed to help you make the right purchasing choices for your future investment or home. email me on andrew.clinton@martinco.com or call me 0121 3216090 to discuss more.